Chocolate Malt in my second brew

[cbrei2310]

My first brew came out pretty good. Here are my notes:


5 Gallons

1 Coopers Irish Stout mix
450g Plain Light Malt
300g Sugar (approx)

Brew Date: 07/30/2012
Boiled at 7:00PM
O.G: 1.035
Yeast added at 9:30PM
Temperature: 85* F

Secondary Fermenter: 08/11/2012
12:30PM

Bottled 8/8/2012
F.G: 1.002
Alcohol Content: 3.5-4%



I think I botteled it a little too early, but it got better as it got older.

For my second shot I am going to use the same Cooper's Irish Stout. But replace the 454g dry malt with 908g of Chocolate Malt.

The previous malt was in a powder form, Would I need to put this in somethign to boil in so I can get it out of the wort for fermenting.

I also was thinking about using 600g of sugar to try and get a higher alcohol content, though I dont know if it works that way or if that would be overkill if it does.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Those are specialty grains, you need to crack them and steep them (in a sack) in ~150 degree water for 20-30 mins, then remove them before bringing the liquid to a boil.

 

[twistr25]

You'll need to crush the grains first and steep them in water at about 158F for 30 minutes or so. Just like steeping a tea bag. Doubling the amount with this grain should also get you a higher ABV

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Just like steeping a tea bag. Doubling the amount with this grain should also get you a higher ABV

Actually, chocolate malt won't add much fermentables to the wort, it mainly adds flavor and color, and since the OP is replacing DME with the chocolate malt, the beer will actually be lower ABV than if he just added the chocolate malt to the recipe.

 

[cbrei2310]

Will the extra sugar account for the loss in ABV?

 

[Yooper]

I wouldn't use much of that malt! It's not "chocolate malt"- it looks like Dingemans "black malt". It's good, but you only want to steep about 4-8 ounces of it (cracked) in the brewing water at 150-160 degrees for 20 minutes, then use that liquid for your brewing water by bring it up to a boil and then adding your malt extract.

Grains are NOT a replacement for the extract. It's in addition to your extracts. Think of the grain as "salt" when you cook. It brings flavor and makes the food better, but it doesn't replace the ingredients in the food. The black malt is the same- you'll get flavor and color from it, but it will not replace the malt extracts you've got.

Use the same recipe, but steep the grains, and you'll have a richer more flavorful beer.

 

[cbrei2310]

Okay, So crack it, Could I use a kitchen mallet to do that? Or a slap chop?
Then, steep it in the water at 155ish*F for 20min.
Then bring to boil and add malt extract. How long should this boil, I have read up to an hour but the instructions aren't clear.
Then cool as quickly as possible to 70*F and add yeast. The kit comes with 7g of yeast. Would adding more do anything for ABV w/o more sugar? Are there different kinds of yeast?

Airlock and wait.

I got a boat load of questions guys, sorry. Gotta say I love beer and I've always wanted to brew my own, its very fun and rewarding.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Yeah, I saw the color and my brain went 'chocolate'. Either way, ~900 gms of either is way to much of either in this beer. And definitely not a replacement for extract or base malt.

I guess a better suggestion for the OP is to add a few oz's (4-5% of the total bill at most) of the black malt to the kit, including the DME. Since the Cooper's can undoubtedly has some dark malts in it, a few oz's of black malt would probably be plenty.

Okay, So crack it, Could I use a kitchen mallet to do that? Or a slap chop?
Then, steep it in the water at 155ish*F for 20min.
Then bring to boil and add malt extract. How long should this boil, I have read up to an hour but the instructions aren't clear.
Then cool as quickly as possible to 70*F and add yeast. The kit comes with 7g of yeast. Would adding more do anything for ABV w/o more sugar? Are there different kinds of yeast?

Airlock and wait.

I got a boat load of questions guys, sorry. Gotta say I love beer and I've always wanted to brew my own, its very fun and rewarding.

Use a rolling pin or a bottle, crack it in a ziplock bag. Steep at ~150ish, remove grain bag, bring to boil and add ingredients as the kit says. There are MANY different types of yeast. I also second reading How to Brew or The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, and continue to ask a lot of questions and read a lot of the threads here on HBT.

 

[twistr25]

Actually, chocolate malt won't add much fermentables to the wort, it mainly adds flavor and color, and since the OP is replacing DME with the chocolate malt, the beer will actually be lower ABV than if he just added the chocolate malt to the recipe.

Touchee, didn't think that one through all the way before I added the last part